CST Time Now — China Standard Time
The current CST time (China Standard Time, UTC +08:00) is shown below.
CST — UTC +08:00
Monday, 12 October 2026 CST
About CST
Offset & DST
UTC offset: +08:00
Daylight saving: Not observed
Representative IANA zone: Asia/Shanghai
IANA zones at CST
Converting CST to other time zones
CST is fixed at UTC +08:00 — written +0800 in email headers and +08:00 in ISO 8601 timestamps. The table below uses each abbreviation's own fixed offset; for a specific place, check its city page, since local clocks switch between standard and daylight abbreviations.
| Zone | Difference | When it's 12:00 CST |
|---|---|---|
| UTC Coordinated Universal Time | −8 h | 04:00 |
| PST Pacific Standard Time | −16 h | 20:00 (−1 day) |
| MST Mountain Standard Time | −15 h | 21:00 (−1 day) |
| CST Central Standard Time | −14 h | 22:00 (−1 day) |
| EST Eastern Standard Time | −13 h | 23:00 (−1 day) |
| BRT Brasília Time | −11 h | 01:00 |
| BST British Summer Time | −7 h | 05:00 |
| CET Central European Time | −7 h | 05:00 |
| EET Eastern European Time | −6 h | 06:00 |
| MSK Moscow Standard Time | −5 h | 07:00 |
| GST Gulf Standard Time | −4 h | 08:00 |
| IST India Standard Time | −2:30 h | 09:30 |
| JST Japan Standard Time | +1 h | 13:00 |
| AEST Australian Eastern Standard Time | +2 h | 14:00 |
CST can mean something else
Time zone abbreviations are not unique. Besides China Standard Time, CST is also used for:
- Central Standard Time (UTC −06:00) — central North America, in winter
- Cuba Standard Time (UTC −05:00) — Cuba, in winter
When the difference matters — meeting invites, software, contracts — write the UTC offset (UTC +08:00) or an IANA zone name such as Asia/Shanghai instead.
Countries commonly using CST
Other zones at UTC +08:00
More tools for CST
Look up the exact IANA zone behind CST, see it on the offset map, or compare it against other cities.